Houston firm buys land next to Alamodome

Houston-based real estate firm Rockspring Capital has purchased nearly an entire city block across the street from the Alamodome

Houston-based real estate firm Rockspring Capital has purchased nearly an entire city block across the street from the Alamodome

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Houston-based real estate firm Rockspring Capital has purchased nearly an entire city block across the street from the Alamodome

Houston-based real estate firm Rockspring Capital has purchased nearly an entire city block across the street from the Alamodome

Photo: Google Maps

Houston firm buys land next to Alamodome

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Houston-based real estate firm Rockspring Capital has purchased nearly an entire city block across the street from the Alamodome — one of the largest real estate investments made around the arena since it was built more than 20 years ago.

Earlier this month, Rockspring closed on 3 acres of land at the southwest corner of the intersections of César E. Chávez Boulevard and Cherry Street, said George Herrera, a broker for the McAlister Real Estate who represented the firm. He declined to share the purchase price.

Rockspring doesn’t have specific plans for the site, but it sees potential for a multifamily or mixed-use development there as more residents move downtown, Herrera said. The firm is looking at buying more land on the near East Side, he said.

“Once the elections are over, we’ll probably have talks with the new council people … to try to see what we can help do there to bring more growth to the area,” he said. “I think the availability of a site like this, so close to downtown, right across from one of our major attractions, the Alamodome, is definitely going to be of interest.”

Herrera said the property transaction was one of the most difficult of his career. Rockspring, which specializes in tackling complicated transactions, bought 13 separate lots from multiple owners, he said. One of the challenges was clearing the title for the properties, he said. Altogether, it took between five and six months to close on the land.

“Our target is to get out there and find well-located parcels in the path of growth, which we can get creative on and find ways to make them work,” Herrera said.

The land is zoned for commercial and industrial uses, according to the city’s website. It’s currently home to a bar, a stable for a horse carriage company, two cell towers and a few homes.

The Alamodome was expected to attract economic growth to the near East Side when it was completed in 1993, but it has largely failed to do so. The recent surge of development in San Antonio’s urban core has brought new projects to the near East Side, though. Local developer Efraim Vargahas plans for an ambitious $150 million mixed-use development named Essex Modern City a half-mile south of Rockspring’s property. A 271-unit apartment complex is under construction three-quarters of a mile north of the property.

This month, Texas officials announced that they’re looking for a developer to rehabilitate the 6-acre G.J. Sutton complex after state employees vacated the historic structure a few years ago. That complex is also just north of Rockspring’s site.

Rockspring focuses on buying land in major cities in Texas. The firm owns several sites in San Antonio, but the property it bought this month is its first venture into downtown, Herrera said. In December, it sold a 1,590-acre property in Helotes for a residential development.